The Nik Stauskas Thread

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Getting Love here would be huge. He's really the ideal 4 for Cliff's system ... but I've looked at potential trades and it would really leave the Hornet's with no depth.

Nik on the other hand strikes me as the perfect 2 guard both for Kemba and for Cliff's system. He's an amazing fit for this team. If the Hornets pass on him I'm sure they will eventually regret it. Like most other #9 picks he's unlikely to be ready for a starting role on day 1, but I'm positive that Nik would be in the 9 man rotation and would play a major role. His efficiency numbers, ball handling, and IQ really help set him apart from some of the other guys.

[ARHornet]

Yeah Cho loves his safe picks. Everyone knows Bismack Biyombo was the biggest sure thing in 2011.

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In that case we're getting Aaron Gordon or Marcus Smart. Cho will tell us that Gordon could be the next Kevin Love because he seen him make a couple 3s in workouts that had pure form and effortless stroke or if he take Smart he will tell us that Smart could be better than Dwyane Wade in his prime.

If we take either of them, then I'm convinced Cho wants to only draft players who can't shoot.

[yosemiteben]

Draft Stauskas, trade Hendo + Neal + 24 to whoever will take those contracts off our hands for cheap.

Mortgage our future for Love.

Kemba
Stauskas
MKG
Love
Al

Make it so Cho.

Not sure how sarcastic I'm being.

[Joest2003]

I just dont see as much potential in Nik as I do Young

[BeesWax]

Draft Stauskas, trade Hendo + Neal + 24 to whoever will take those contracts off our hands for cheap.

Mortgage our future for Love.

Kemba
Stauskas
MKG
Love
Al

Make it so Cho.

Not sure how sarcastic I'm being.

No way to get Love without the #9 going back to Minny. If we could pull that off though it would be amazing. Would change the stats projection for Nik as he would be the 4th option on that squad.

[yosemiteben]

Draft Stauskas, trade Hendo + Neal + 24 to whoever will take those contracts off our hands for cheap.

Mortgage our future for Love.

Kemba
Stauskas
MKG
Love
Al

Make it so Cho.

Not sure how sarcastic I'm being.

No way to get Love without the #9 going back to Minny. If we could pull that off though it would be amazing. Would change the stats projection for Nik as he would be the 4th option on that squad.

Maybe Zeller + 2015 1st + 2016 first? Maybe try to resign and McRoberts and send him too (not sure if you can do that)?

I mean Love is pretty much going to walk at the end of next year anyway so we'd be taking some risk with him.

[catch20two]

I just dont see as much potential in Nik as I do Young

Nik has some upside and he has skill sets that fit exactly what we need right now but I don't think he'll ever turn into that type of player that opposing teams will really fear or worry about going against. He do have a little bit of flare and confidence for a white boy though that make a little part of me think he could be more than a glorified role player and maybe that's because he's from Canada. I want to read the reports from these workouts before I really start coming to a conclusion on any of these picks.

I'm currently sold on Young being the perfect pick and Lavine being a possible all star if we ever learn to develop players. Stauskas is third on my list. I wouldn't be mad at none of those picks as long as Cho don't try to sell me no nonsense like he did about Zeller being similar to Lamarcus Aldridge. Lol

[Liver_Pooty]

I just dont see as much potential in Nik as I do Young

Nik has some upside and he has skill sets that fit exactly what we need right now but I don't think he'll ever turn into that type of player that opposing teams will really fear or worry about going against. He do have a little bit of flare and confidence for a white boy though that make a little part of me think he could be more than a glorified role player and maybe that's because he's from Canada. I want to read the reports from these workouts before I really start coming to a conclusion on any of these picks.

I'm currently sold on Young being the perfect pick and Lavine being a possible all star if we ever learn to develop players. Stauskas is third on my list. I wouldn't be mad at none of those picks as long as Cho don't try to sell me no nonsense like he did about Zeller being similar to Lamarcus Aldridge. Lol

What does race have to do with anything? Just curious.

[catch20two]

I just dont see as much potential in Nik as I do Young

Nik has some upside and he has skill sets that fit exactly what we need right now but I don't think he'll ever turn into that type of player that opposing teams will really fear or worry about going against. He do have a little bit of flare and confidence for a white boy though that make a little part of me think he could be more than a glorified role player and maybe that's because he's from Canada. I want to read the reports from these workouts before I really start coming to a conclusion on any of these picks.

I'm currently sold on Young being the perfect pick and Lavine being a possible all star if we ever learn to develop players. Stauskas is third on my list. I wouldn't be mad at none of those picks as long as Cho don't try to sell me no nonsense like he did about Zeller being similar to Lamarcus Aldridge. Lol

What does race have to do with anything? Just curious.

Lol. I was actually being kinda sarcastic but we all know that white guys that look like superstars in college don't translate well to the NBA like that. Look at Laettner, Gugliotta, Ammo, and the list go on.

[BeesWax]

I just dont see as much potential in Nik as I do Young

Nik has some upside and he has skill sets that fit exactly what we need right now but I don't think he'll ever turn into that type of player that opposing teams will really fear or worry about going against. He do have a little bit of flare and confidence for a white boy though that make a little part of me think he could be more than a glorified role player and maybe that's because he's from Canada. I want to read the reports from these workouts before I really start coming to a conclusion on any of these picks.

I'm currently sold on Young being the perfect pick and Lavine being a possible all star if we ever learn to develop players. Stauskas is third on my list. I wouldn't be mad at none of those picks as long as Cho don't try to sell me no nonsense like he did about Zeller being similar to Lamarcus Aldridge. Lol

I think Nik has all star potential. The more I see of his quick release and his play making shot creating ability the more I see a bigger version of Steph Curry. The number are similar and Curry worked hard on his handles in college to get to where he is. He was not a PG until his junior year. He is not quite the same FT shooter but everything is very close between the two. Nik just had to share more since he wasn't the only scorer on his team like Curry.

[Liver_Pooty]

Nik has some upside and he has skill sets that fit exactly what we need right now but I don't think he'll ever turn into that type of player that opposing teams will really fear or worry about going against. He do have a little bit of flare and confidence for a white boy though that make a little part of me think he could be more than a glorified role player and maybe that's because he's from Canada. I want to read the reports from these workouts before I really start coming to a conclusion on any of these picks.

I'm currently sold on Young being the perfect pick and Lavine being a possible all star if we ever learn to develop players. Stauskas is third on my list. I wouldn't be mad at none of those picks as long as Cho don't try to sell me no nonsense like he did about Zeller being similar to Lamarcus Aldridge. Lol

What does race have to do with anything? Just curious.

Lol. I was actually being kinda sarcastic but we all know that white guys that look like superstars in college don't translate well to the NBA like that. Look at Laettner, Gugliotta, Ammo, and the list go on.

Bird, Nash, West, Stockton, McHale, say hello.

I've just seen a lot of people, even a few on here say they are kind of iffy on McDermott and Stauskas because they are white. At the end of the day either a man can play basketball or he can't. Just my opinion.

[catch20two]

What does race have to do with anything? Just curious.

Lol. I was actually being kinda sarcastic but we all know that white guys that look like superstars in college don't translate well to the NBA like that. Look at Laettner, Gugliotta, Ammo, and the list go on.

Bird, Nash, West, Stockton, McHale, say hello.

I've just seen a lot of people, even a few on here say they are kind of iffy on McDermott and Stauskas because they are white. At the end of the day either a man can play basketball or he can't. Just my opinion.

You can even throw Mullins in there. I'm not saying that a white player is any less of a player but it take a strongwilled white player to really leave a mark in the NBA as a force to be reckoned with because let's be honest, a lot of what a player become beyond skill is from confidence and mentality. It's easy for a player to be the man on campus when he's a man among boys but it's a whole nother thing when they reach the NBA where everybody think they are the man until you take it from them. That's why I made the little joke about him being Canadian because it could be a icebreaker in the way he approach the game like maybe he has a chip on his shoulder or maybe he has a IDGAF attitude that could put him over the top.

[W_HAMILTON]

He do have a little bit of flare and confidence for a white boy though

I wasn't sure how to phrase it, but this is sort of another reason I like him; he seems to have that same sort of enthusiasm on the court that guys like Kemba and MKG have. He'd fit right alongside them.

[MasterIchiro]

CBS-Charlotte talk radio: Harris, Stauskas, Young all make sense

http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2014/05/2 ... r-hornets/

[MasterIchiro]

CBS-Charlotte talk radio: Harris, Stauskas, Young all make sense

http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2014/05/2 ... r-hornets/

He likes Gary Harris the most.

[BeesWax]

CBS-Charlotte talk radio: Harris, Stauskas, Young all make sense

http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2014/05/2 ... r-hornets/

He likes Gary Harris the most.

I assume he does not know the math of the situation and the likelihood of failure due to it. I will be interesting to see more about him.

[NatTurnUP]

The most NBA ready player outside of Parker and Embiid. If he's there at 9, take him and run.

[chabber]

QCH has an article on Harris vs. Stauskas

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/2014/05/27/debating-9-gary-harris-vs-nik-stauskas/

I'm easily in agreement here. We need more players who can shoot obviously, but guys who can penetrate, pass and the ball doesn't stick in their hands. From what I can tell Stauskas excels in all of those areas over Harris and most of the other guys that should be available at 9.

As for his defensive issues from the short videos I've seen, I see more late reactions or maybe lower awareness. Possibly it wasn't stressed as much to his team? Being that he seems to have a nice feel for the game on offense, I believe Clifford could coach up his team defense and he could work hard to improve his positioning, awareness and effort. His strength should also be able to improve as he has already taken strides in that direction. Maybe he doesn't improve on the defensive side of the ball but I don't see anything in these videos that make me think that he doesn't have the tools to do so.

[MasterIchiro]

Here is how David Aldridge ranks the SG in the 2014 NBA Draft

1. Nik Stauskas | Michigan | Sophomore | 6-6 | 205 > Late Lottery
2. Gary Harris | Michigan St. | Sophomore | 6-4 | 210 > Late Lottery
3. James Young | Kentucky | Freshman | 6-6 | 215 > Mid-first

The Big 10's Player of the Year, Stauskas was a second-team Associated Press and Sporting News All-America, and made the all-America first team of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He is among the latest in the vanguard of Canadian players who have come to the States and made a major impact. Andrew Wiggins got more hype coming into this season, but Stauskas emerged as the leader of a Wolverines team trying to get back to the national championship game before falling to Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

But that was hardly Stauskas's fault. He made 44.2 percent of his 3-point attempts this season, playing on the ball as the de facto replacement for Trey Burke. Burke left school early for the Draft last year and is now the Utah Jazz's starting point guard.

"He killed us," said a college coach whose team played Michigan this season.

"I didn't know his level of toughness," the college coach said. "He's tougher than I thought he was. I thought he was a little soft. (But) he's tough. He is good. He has a cockiness about it. You have to have a little toughness (in the NBA). He did some things defensively that kind of impressed me, because I didn't know he had it in him."
NBA types believe Stauskas might be able to initiate offense in the manner of a Gordon Hayward with the Jazz. But like Hayward, no one expects Stauskas to be a primary ballhandler. He'll make his money from behind the arc.

"He shoots that ball the same way every time. It's just pure," a Southeast Division executive said.

"He was one of the best shooters in college this year," a Central Division executive said. "He showed a little bit more ballhanding this year. Not great, but enough to show NBA teams that he can put it on the floor as, say, J.J. Redick, as opposed to just being a catch and shoot player. I think that's probably the biggest difference in his game this year and last year. He probably can't put the ball on the floor against starting twos, but he's gotten a lot better at it."

Scouts spoke admiringly of the edge with which Stauskas played -- just enough to notice, not enough to be over the top and causing chemistry issues with teammates. That will help him when he has to try and guard opposing twos in the pros. He gives effort, but he will have problems staying in front of some people, though some think he'll figure out how to space opponents defensively in the NBA.

"He's got a little edge on his shoulder that you've got to have when you're a 6-6 white wing player in our league," a Western Conference exec said. "He's not going to be a (defensive) liability, but he's also not going to be the guy you put on the other team's best wing player."

[fatlever]

if the hornets really believe in the future of MKG, then stauskus should be the guy at #9. they compliment each other perfectly. you could not hand pick a better set of skills and size to put next to MKG. stauskus has enough size that you can hide him on the worst of the two wings, while MKG guards the better of the two.

lebron/wade - MKG guards lebron, stauskus guards wade - obviously the toughest wing matchup in the league
melo/hardaway - MKG guards melo, stauskus guards hardaway
parsons/harden - MKG guards harden, stauskaus guards parsons - gives up some height, but should be OK.
kobe/young - MKG guards kobe, stauskus guards young
etc...

if the hornets have some reservations about MKG, then go with mcdermott and find a shooting guard in free agency or in a trade or stick with henderson.